Gizmo's Reviews: #Monday Review - The Long Game by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (Young Adult, Mystery) @bloomsburykids

Series: The Fixer # 2
Format: E-Galley, 368 pages
Release Date: June 7, 2016
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's
Source: Publisher
Genre: Young Adult, Mystery

Tess Kendrick, teen fixer extraordinaire, returns in a pulse-pounding thriller about a deadly conspiracy at the heart of Washington.

For Tess Kendrick, a junior at the elite Hardwicke School in Washington D.C., fixing runs in the family. But Tess has another legacy, too, one that involves power and the making of political dynasties. When Tess is asked to run a classmate's campaign for student council, she agrees. But when the candidates are children of politicians, even a high school election can involve life-shattering secrets.

Meanwhile, Tess's guardian has also taken on an impossible case, as a terrorist attack calls into doubt who can--and cannot--be trusted on Capitol Hill. Tess knows better than most that power is currency in D.C., but she's about to discover first-hand that power always comes with a price.

Perfect for fans of Harlan Coben and Ally Carter, the second book in this thrilling series will leave readers breathless.

The Long Game is the second installment in Jennifer Lynn Barnes'

The Fixer series. The series features 16-year old Tess Kendrick-Keyes as the daughter of one of the best Fixers in the political arena; Ivy Kendrick. Tess's whole life took a major turn in a strange direction when she was uprooted from the only home she's ever known, flown to Washington, DC, and enrolled at the elite Hardwicke School where the kids who go there are all related to some of the most powerful people in the entire world. That includes Tess and her new found connection to Kingmaker William Keyes.

Tess's world is anything but boring or safe these days. She found herself helping the Vice President's daughter out of a serious jam, got caught up in a major conspiracy involving the murder of a Supreme Court Justice, and found herself with an interesting group of friends including best friend Vivvie Bharani, Asher Rhodes, and Henry Marquette who love to go on "Hedgehog Hunts." I am going to add Emilia Rhodes to the list of friends even though they have had, and still do have some silly issues to resolve. I am also adding her because Tess owes her a favor, and that favor comes due.

The Long Game picks up shortly after The Fixer. I'll say this about the story, be prepared for anything and everything to happen as Barnes really raises the stakes to the point where you are gasping for air by the time this story is over. Tess, in a way, is a mini-Ivy, but she is also a Veronica Mars doppelganger. She's been called upon to help her fellow students out of situations where nothing subtle will do. Then, a brutal reality slaps her and her friends in the face with the murder of a fellow student. Once again, Tess finds herself in the middle of something so dangerous that it will take a modern miracle to come out unscathed.

The Fixer has been compared to Scandal by many a reader, including yours truly. Tess's sister Ivy is this world's Olivia Pope. She is called on to fix things when situations get ugly. She knows where the bodies are buried. She knows who has the power and who is just a charming pain in the backside. She's friends with the President and First Lady and has a back up plan should something go wrong. But, Ivy also shuttered Tess behind a veil of secrecy that caused a major rift between them. A rift that hopefully will be healed after the events of this book.

Now let's get to some of the head shaking issues I have with this series that hopefully have been resolved. Ivy and Tess's relationship is a bit on the bitter side, and for good reasons. Secrets are never good between those who are supposed to care about each other. I must ask you to go back to The Fixer and discover what I am talking about. There is also Tess's relationship with Henry. A relationship that I no longer support and am glad that a wall now stands in the way of any reconciliation.

I do look forward to the third installment in this series to uncover who is really behind the mysteries and conspiracies that have been at the center of Tess's life since she arrived in D.C. If you are looking for a nice relaxing non-violent or happy-happy read, this book may not be suitable for your sensitive feelings. Things are ugly, they are violent, there are serious betrayals, and violence touches the lives of almost every single character we've come to love or hate in some cases. This book may even be better in than The Fixer , and that's saying a whole lot.